Discussion related to everything about model railroading, from layout design and planning, to reviews of related model tools and equipment. Discussion includes O, S, HO, N and Z, as well as narrow gauge topics. Also includes discussion of traditional "toy train" and "collector" topics such as Lionel, American Flyer, Marx, and others. Also includes discussion of outdoor garden railways and live steamers.

I cannot think of a good name for this topic, but over the years (long time ago now!) there were several reboxers/resellers of Athearn Blue Box kits who used the undecorated kits to produce numerous and sometimes obscure road names. These kits still turn up at train shows and on Ebay. The common examples are Bev-Bel (in NJ) and English (in Pa). In Toronto years ago I picked up a kit for a TH&B boxcar. It was even reboxed, but as I assembled it, I realized it was a Blue Box kit, done by a Canadian firm. Going back even further, there was Kar-Line which painted and applied its own decals to the kits and reboxed them. I am sure that these were Athearn kits. These Kar-LIne kits also show up on Ebay. Here is my question: have there been any other reboxers and resellers? What is the availability?

This was the normal route of various model RR Clubs to create custom runs of "Home Road" cars for use on the Club layout and sellas a "fund raiser" to other model railroaders/collectors.Most of the time it was Athearn "stock" kit of a common car type with custom paint and lettering,in the blue box with a custom printedlabel slapped on one of the box end panels.

Branchline got its start repainting Athearn kits. They then moved on to making their own kits, and then sold their HO scale tooling to Atlas.New England Rail Service also issued kits that were based on Athearns.Greenway Products used both Athearn and Bowser.

There are others too, but I am drawing a bit of a blank right now...

And, as mentioned above, countless clubs, nmra regions, and small shops issued customer painted Athearn kits over the years.

Now the most likely sources for 'custom paint jobs' are Accurail and Bowser.

some blue box I have was in Athearn blue box whe I buy them in store or at the show they was wearing a label written "Canadian Limited trains Edition" on one end of the box,I have two CN RDC in noodle scheme and 2 other with the 1954 paint scheme,a VIA B unit and a CN GP9 that I repainted it in GTW blue paint

like example..BUDD RDC cost around 40$ for a blue box kit..and the "Canadian Limited trains Edition" CN RDC was 90$ eachoriginal model have fluted end and the repainted edition have smooth ends